


On a Cold Unfeeling Sea

by Antarctica_or_bust



Category: Ghost Ship (2002)
Genre: And somehow the het is more explicit than the slash in this, Angst and Humor, Awkwardness, Bigotry & Prejudice, Canonical Character Death, Coming Out, Established Relationship, F/M, Homophobia, Jealousy, M/M, Missing Scene, POV Minor Character, POV Multiple, POV Villain, Pre-Series, Relationship Issues, Secret Relationship, Self Confidence Issues, Several of these characters are ridiculous, Threats of Violence, Utter misuse of technical terms, almost canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-21
Updated: 2014-06-03
Packaged: 2018-01-25 23:01:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1665686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antarctica_or_bust/pseuds/Antarctica_or_bust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dodge and Munder through the eyes of their crew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Murphy

**Author's Note:**

> I know this fandom is as dead as its characters but since I've been working on this fic on and off for months now, I'm damn well going to post it anyway.

Murphy needs a miracle and he’s not likely to get one so his mood is foul as he shoves open the door of O'Malley's bar. At least it had been a good run before everything went to shit and the captain has money to drown his sorrows in alcohol.  
  
The rest of the crew is still busy working, prepping the tug for the job that they're supposed to start this week, and Murphy isn't looking forward to explaining when the truth comes out. Because everyone is going to be pissed once they learn that the Arctic Warrior can't set sail and the captain will be lucky if Epps doesn't take her rage out of his hide.  
  
She deserves better notice both as a friend and a one-third partner in his operation but Murphy is still kind of hoping that he can find that miracle after all. He’s due some good karma since it’s hardly his fault that Grimley suddenly decided to up and run off with his girl without warning, leaving his tug too shorthanded to ship out. Not his fault but as captain he'll still take responsibility and he walks toward the bar with a sigh.  
  
A couple of his fellow captains are there already, obviously just come in from a wreck as well, and with a bit of luck one of them will have a line on some desperate salvager needing work. Though considering how dead this place is at the moment, the only other customers a table of college students down slumming it and a scruffy pair in the corner, Murphy's hopes are sinking fast.  
  
“Crawford, Hendrick.” he says, nodding a greeting to the giant redhead and his friend as he settles on an empty stool. A flick of his fingers at O'Malley gets him a beer and he takes a long sip before speaking up again. “Finish your run up north already?”  
  
“Yeah, just got back in this morning. A few days ahead of schedule but it was an easy haul. No surprises and no fuck-ups for once,” Hendrick replies with a shrug. “You?”  
  
“Last week. We're supposed to head back out again on Friday but it doesn't look like that's going to happen after all. Not unless one of you knows a welder willing to work on a moment's notice with an unfamiliar crew.” While the other captains are technically his competition, there's an agreement of sorts among long-time salvagers and neither of them will steal his claim unless he offers it.  
  
“What happened to the last guy you had?” Crawford asks, “Gridley, Grimey, whatever his name was. You seemed happy with his work.”  
  
“Grimley,” Murphy corrects absently, taking another swig of his beer. “He was decent. Hardly the best I've ever had, but he got the job done. Unfortunately, the bastard ran off with that waitress he's been seeing on the side. Left a note on my door this morning and I was already running one man short after Juarez bailed.”  
  
The other men fall silent for a while after this pronouncement, Hendrick reaching out to knock on the wood of the bar solemnly. Small-time salvagers like them are always a few bad jobs from bankruptcy and the only thing worse than having a crew that you can't trust is not having a crew at all.  
  
But eventually Crawford breaks the silence to offer a solution, each word falling from his lips reluctantly. “If you're really desperate, there's always Munder. The man knows his way around a blow torch and I know no one's hired him since I gave him the boot. That was almost a month ago so I imagine he would probably work for free by now. Although I wouldn't actually recommend it if you have any other options since you don't want someone like him on your crew.”  
  
“Someone like him?” Murphy asks curiously, not sure what could make Crawford frown like that. His fellow captain has a volatile temper, but the redhead isn't usually the type to gossip about anything other than the normal rumors and superstitions that all salvagers live on. “He a thief or something?”  
  
“Worse. The man's a fucking queer and he doesn't even have the decency to hide it. Prancing around with that boy toy of his like they have some kind of right. It makes me sick.”  
  
Crawford punctuates the statement with a curse, spitting a mouthful of scotch to the side. Murphy isn't exactly sure how to respond to this, not used to facing such blatant bigotry. Sure he's not exactly comfortable with the idea and salvagers can be an unforgiving bunch, but he generally prefers to judge people based on their capabilities. That's why he hired Epps when no one else would touch her and that was a gamble which has paid off in spades.  
  
So maybe it's time to take a risk again because it's not like he has anything to lose right now. “Well, at this point all I really care about is whether or not the man can weld. I can always fire him later but I'm going to lose this job if I don't find a welder by tomorrow afternoon.”  
  
“Fair enough,” his fellow captains agree reluctantly, knowing that they've both done things they weren't proud of when their funds were tight. “So if you really want to talk to him, Munder’s over there.”  
  
Hendrick waves one hand toward the pair in the corner, the scruffy ones who've been nursing the same beers since he arrived. Their appearance is nothing like he would have expected – nothing to set them apart from other salvagers except how close they're sitting, and if not for Crawford's words, he wouldn't have thought anything of that. The two men look up warily when Murphy stops at their table and the captain has to wonder what kind of treatment has put that sort of mistrust in their eyes.  
  
“One of you Munder?” he asks, dragging a chair over to sit down.  
  
“That's me,” the brown-haired one replies, knocking his shoulder into the blond's when he starts to speak. “Why you want to know?”  
  
“My fellow captains over there said you were a welder and if that's true I may have a place for you,” he tells the pair, watching the way their faces change. First hope, then a kind of quiet resignation and the captain's never seen potential hires so sure that he must be full of shit.  
  
“Yeah, and what else did he say?” the blond snorts bitterly, taking a swig of his beer.  
  
“Nothing that's relevant right now. I've got a job starting Friday and I need a welder to round out my crew, but if you're not interested, I can always walk away.” Murphy keeps his voice even, the first rule of negotiation never to let them see how desperate you really are. Besides, given the hungry cast to these men's faces, Crawford was serious about seeing that the two of them are never hired and he truly doubts they'll let him leave.  
  
Indeed when he starts to stand up from the table, Munder stops him short. “Now don't be hasty,” the welder says, holding out a hand. “I never said I wasn't interested. Dodge here and Crawford aren't on such good terms is all.”  
  
The blond certainly seems to be the more suspicious one of the pair, watching Murphy warily as he lays out the terms of the job. But he has the air of a seasoned sailor, actually more than his... partner does and so the captain finds himself asking, “And, Dodge is it? If he's the welder, what are you? What kind of skills do you have?”  
  
“I do a bit of everything, really, but my specialty is diving and the underwater rig,” Dodge replies reluctantly when Munder nudges him in the side.  
  
“You any good?” the captain asks, mind spinning at the other man's response. He hasn't been to church in a while but he may have to go again because someone is clearly looking out for him. That is exactly what Juarez used to cover and while the rest of his crew can do the job, it would be much easier with an expert on hand.  
  
“Are you kidding?” the welder cuts in when Dodge makes no move to answer Murphy's question. “He's the best. I'd wager he could swim circles around any of _their_ men.”  
  
He gives a dismissive wave of his bottle toward the other captains still sitting at the bar, opening his mouth to keep on gushing before the blond elbows him. “Munder; shut it. I think he gets the idea.”  
  
“In that case, I may have to revise my offer,” Murphy says as he comes to a quick decision. It's not as though he’s risking anything important with a trial run, even if Epps may actually kick his ass for this. “How would both of you like to work for once? I know the pay ain't great and the berths are nothing fancy, but it's a job and the best that you're likely to get right now.”  
  
“Seriously? You want to hire both of us?” Munder asks, hope and surprise warring on his face. “Didn't Crawford tell you? I mean, if you're desperate for a welder that's one thing, but...”  
  
He trails off awkwardly, obviously not wanting to come right out and say it if Murphy doesn't really know.  
  
“If you're half as good as you claim, then you deserve a chance and my fellow captains had nothing bad to say about your skills. So as long as you can follow orders professionally and pull your own weight, you'll fit in with my crew just fine. Of course we'll have to run you through your paces first, but if you pass you're hired and we'll talk about the possibility of a longer berth after this job goes down.”  
  
Munder and Dodge look at each other, a wealth of meaning in that glance and suddenly Murphy can see what Crawford was talking about. But while the thought still weirds him out rather fiercely, he's committed now and he doesn't go back on his word.  
  
“Yes sir. Thank you,” the pair choruses, reaching across the table to shake his hand and for the first time since he found Grimley's message, Murphy thinks that things may turn out all right.  
  
\---  
  
“You did what?!” Epps shouts when he meets her at the docks to fill her in the next morning. “How could you hire two new guys without even consulting me first? What about Grimley?”  
  
“He ran off with his girl yesterday; left me a note and short one welder, so what else was I supposed to do?” Murphy growls back. “It's near impossible to find men on such short notice and these guys came cheap. Besides, Crawford vouched for the welder's skill.”  
  
“Really? Then why didn't he hire them?” she questions flatly, never one to just take his word for things. “There must be some reason that they were on the market if they're so _incredibly_ qualified.”  
  
Murphy can tell by her tone that Epps won't accept anything but the truth and as much as he'd rather not mention the whole mess, she should probably know anyway. “Apparently they're queer. Or gay or whatever they call it now,” he explains awkwardly, complete with aborted hand waves and mumbling. “Crawford's been trying to run them out of town with an embargo but I don't see why the rest of the crew needs to know that part.”  
  
“I'll give you that for now,” Epps concedes grudgingly, her anger finally dying down. “But we’ll have to tell Greer and Santos eventually if these two work out. They coming by today?”  
  
“This afternoon. Run them through their paces for me, will you? See exactly what they can do,” Murphy says, much more comfortable now that they're back to discussing business instead of more personal things. He always sends new guys to Epps for the run through, as much to see if they can take orders from a woman as to see if they can handle the job.  
  
But whatever his fellow captain thinks of Munder's life choices, it seems he was truthful about his skills because Epps comes back a few hours later with what for her is gushing: a short nod and a simple, “Damn good spot welder there.”  
  
She's not quite as certain about Dodge since deep sea diving is harder to judge in these conditions, but Murphy's second declares him competent enough.  
  
So for the first time in months, the Arctic Warrior chugs out of Anchorage with her berths full and it takes about a week for everyone to adapt to the new bodies in their midst. This is actually faster than most crews would manage the adjustment but his core salvagers have had a lot of practice at doing exactly that. They’ve outlasted quite a few welders in the years they've been together, Grimley only the latest in a long line to move on.  
  
Of course, Murphy usually has at least a week on shore to ease his new crew members into the tug's routine but the short notice they’re under now makes that impossible. Which is a neat justification for keeping the truth about Dodge and Munder under wraps.  
  
There's no need to throw that wrench into the works while everyone is still learning to work together and the pair must have a similar idea since they are every bit as discreet as the captain might have hoped. For while neither man lies outright, Dodge is quite practiced at deflecting personal questions and if Murphy didn't know any better, he'd assume they were no more than close friends. Which is good for him since all he cares about is whether or not they can be professional and he's more than happy to put all thoughts of their relationship out of his mind.  
  
The captain honestly doesn't think about it again until their job is well on its way to being completed, the wreck rising from the ocean ahead of schedule for once in his career. Much of this is simply due to fair weather and a decent bit of luck but there is also something to be said for working with specialists.  
  
Because while Grimley was a decent welder, Munder completes his work in half the time and Dodge has turned out to be every bit the diver that his lover promised, cutting through the water like some kind of fucking seal. A normal job might still take months but a few less days or weeks on this end of things will help his profit margin and Murphy is already planning to ask Epps what she thinks of the pair staying on. Although he seriously doubts that his second will have any objections so he's feeling rather cheerful as he makes his way below the decks.  
  
 _I'm going to have to thank Crawford for his recommendation; he was an idiot to fire Munder just because the man's a little weird. Though I don't know how he even realized considering how discreet they've bee-_  
  
Murphy stops short at the sight of his new crew members curled together on one of the lower bunks, resting after another exhausting day. They're not doing anything particularly incriminating, Munder's just passed out with his head on Dodge's lap, but the captain can’t help but feel that he's intruding anyway. Because the blond has yet to notice his presence and Murphy had never realized just how much the diver hid behind a mask.  
  
Not until this very moment, watching Dodge stroke the welder's hair with a soft smile on his face. That is the smile of someone utterly besotted and it makes the captain feel guilty for trying so hard to block out any thoughts of their relationship.  
  
Who is he to say whether one type of love is better than another, even if the idea of them together still makes him uncomfortable? Who is Murphy to judge anyone when his most successful relationship ended in a vicious divorce that still stings to this day? But just as he's preparing to back away and pretend he never saw anything, Dodge looks up and the panic on his face when he spies his captain chills Murphy to the bone.  
  
The blond makes an abortive move to stand or at least shift the welder off him, but he can't seem to bear the thought of waking Munder up. So he just sits there awkwardly, watching the older man like he expects him to explode until the captain finally can't take it anymore.  
  
“You can relax, I'm not going to attack you,” he bites out, feeling somewhat insulted by the other man's obvious mistrust. Uncomfortable he may be, but Murphy's not some kind of monster.  
  
Except Dodge just shrugs and says, “It wouldn't be the first time,” before adding softly, “Though I agree you're not the type. Not like that bastard Crawford who couldn't simply fire Munder without roughing him up a bit.”  
  
His voice is bitter, one hand curling around the welder's shoulder protectively and his dislike of the other captain suddenly makes a lot more sense.  
  
However, that still doesn't explain why the blond is acting so odd now and Murphy has to ask, “Then what exactly are you worried about? I knew about your... interests when I hired you and while I appreciate your professionalism, I never said you had to hide.”  
  
“No, you didn't. But while Munder is still stupidly optimistic about these kinds of things, I learned my lesson the hard way and we need this job. So I ain't gonna lie about it if someone asks me directly but I also don't see the need to draw attention with a bunch of guys I've never met before. Just because you needed a welder doesn't mean that you won't freak out if we shove the truth in your face. There's nowhere to hide on a boat like this and a lot of accidents can happen out at sea.”  
  
Dodge's voice is steady, almost matter of fact, and somehow that is the most disturbing part of all. So Murphy just stares, struggling to come up with some kind of response that doesn't make him sound like either a bigot or a fool.  
  
Because he knows his fellow captains and the other's words are far too easy to believe. Murphy doesn't think that any of them would actually stoop to murder but salvagers can be an unforgiving lot and he wouldn't be surprised if hazing had quickly turned to injury. _Although, am I really that much better in the end? If I hadn't been desperate, I might have let Crawford sway my opinion and I was perfectly happy to pretend that there was nothing going on._  
  
Murphy isn't used to feeling guilty – he came to terms with his regrets long ago – but he also never thought that he was the type to ignore an injustice when right in front of him.  
  
 _And yet if I never stumbled on this scene tonight I wouldn't have realized how much they were still hiding and if they hadn't been skilled, I would have thrown them back to the wolves without a second thought. Damn it all. I didn't sign up for any of these messy complications, but I can hardly ignore the situation now._  
  
Although, if the captain's going to make up for his ignorance, he has to do it fast because he can see Dodge shutting down again as he realizes how much he just revealed.  
  
“Okay then. That settles it,” Murphy announces firmly. “I'm not going to lie and say I understand your relationship, because I don't, but I was planning on offering you more permanent work and I don't see any reason for this to change. So if I'm going to trust you at my back, I need you to stop lying about who you are.”  
  
“I- What?!” the diver asks incredulously, gaping up at him. “You _want_ us to act all lovey-dovey?”  
  
“Of course not. I expect you to be professionals. But when you're off duty, I also expect you to act normal and if anyone has an issue with you, they can take it up with me. As far as I'm concerned, you're crew now and I look after my own.”  
  
“I don't understand you at all,” Dodge says after a moment, shaking his head in disbelief. “And I think you might actually be crazy. But Munder would kill me if I didn't agree so I guess it's a deal.”  
  
In truth, Murphy has no idea what he’s thinking either, but the captain means every word. This is a dangerous business and he can't afford his crew to be divided; Munder and Dodge have to believe that the others will have their backs when shit goes down. They have to trust each other and that's never going to happen as long as they're waiting for the other shoe to drop. So while the captain's not sure how Greer or Santos will react, better to get that over with now than to spring it on them when lives are on the line.  
  
Besides, he refuses to lose two of the best salvagers he's ever seen over his own prejudice and as long as they don't start making out in the corridors, Murphy's sure that he'll get used to it eventually.  
  
\---  
  
Though, to be honest, things don't change much at first. The other men are obviously wary of actually doing as he says despite the captain's promises and every softer look is followed by a worried glance his way. But when he never goes ballistic, Dodge and Munder gradually relax and Greer's spit-take the first time the welder flops down on his partner's lap is worth whatever discomfort Murphy feels.  
  
Indeed it's strangely humbling to see how much the pair cares about each other and how much they had been hiding for fear of reprisal by those whom they should trust. Because now that the masks are off, his new crew members turn out to be a pair of raunchy bastards, their filthy jokes fitting in just fine with Epps' drunken puns. Really the only one who still seems uncomfortable when they finally set course for home is Greer and he's a Navy man so that's understandable.  
  
Of course there were awkward moments as his crew adjusted to this new information, _and that night with the raisins is never being spoken of again_ , but by the time the Arctic warrior returns to Anchorage, Murphy's almost forgotten that he'd seriously considered secrecy. Even as the sight of Crawford standing on his dock reminds him why he did.  
  
“Can I help you?” Murphy asks, striding down the gangway to meet the redhead and his bully boys stare for stare. He has an idea of the reason for their presence but he's damn well going to make them say it out loud.  
  
“We ain't here for any trouble, Murph,” the other captain says with an oily smirk, his hands open at his sides. “I just thought I'd be nice enough to escort your welder out of town now that his work is through. You should have time enough to find another before your next job comes due and those two ain't welcome here.”  
  
Crawford's men break into vicious laughs and jeers when he finishes and Murphy can see his own crew moving to stand behind him from the corner of his eye. From the expression on Dodge's face he obviously expects to be sacrificed without a fight but the captain is pleased to see Epps stop him from stepping forward with a firm hand on his arm.  
  
 _Good girl, can't let that pessimistic bastard do anything foolish before we sort this out. Because no one threatens **my** crew. Not while I'm around._  
  
“See, I think we're going to have a problem there. I don't feel like finding a new welder when this one is working out just fine and so I'm afraid you and your boys are going to have to leave empty-handed after all,” Murphy declares, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
For a moment he thinks that it may actually come to blows since several of Crawford's men look ready for a brawl. But for all his size, the redhead has never been much of a fighter, preferring to use brute force instead of skill and both captains know that Murphy can take him down. Can and will if it comes to that and so he’s not all that surprised when the other man backs down.  
  
“Whatever, fags like them ain't worth arguing about. You're obviously going soft anyway, hiring a woman and a fucking Mexican.” With a few more vague threats Crawford slinks off like the coward he is as Santos calls “I'm from Australia, you fucktard” at his back.  
  
“And my family's from El Salvador,” the mechanic continues hotly before mumbling something about the engines and wandering off. There's still plenty of work to be done before the day is over, not to mention getting paid, so Murphy is about to head down to the harbormaster's office when he feels a hand on his arm.  
  
“Are you sure you wanted to do that? Crawford has some serious influence around here and he could make things hard for you,” Dodge asks when the captain turns to look at him, the blond ever the cautious one.  
  
“Don't worry about me. If I didn't want to do it, I wouldn't have done it and Crawford can go fuck himself. This is my crew and my boat and I'll hire anyone I damn well please. They got over Epps; they'll get over you eventually. So I expect the pair of you to meet me at the Sloshed Walrus once the Warrior is settled and our cargo berthed; it's time for all of us to celebrate a job well done.”  
  
“Of course, sir. We'll be there,” Munder replies for them both and the surge of protectiveness that Murphy feels is worth the lie. People like Crawford never get over anything but these two deserve to have someone in their corner for once and he never liked the redhead all that much anyway.  
  



	2. Epps

She doesn't know what to think at first. Actually, that's a lie; Epps is fucking pissed when Murphy tells her the news.  
  
The salvager is a minor partner in this operation; she's worked with Murph for years and she’s earned the right to be consulted before he does this kind of thing. Hiring new people deserves at least a fucking phone call even if Grimley did run off suddenly and who knows if they’re even qualified?  
  
No one works that cheap without a good reason and while salvagers don’t usually make a fortune, the better ones can always find a berth. For these guys to be without a ship this late in the season is a major red flag in Epps’ mind, particularly if Crawford vouched for their skills but wouldn’t hire them.  
  
So she asks Murph for an explanation and while she’s expecting something at least a little sordid, his answer still takes her by surprise. She didn't even know there were gay salvagers in Anchorage and if she'd ever thought about it, she would have assumed that they'd keep it under wraps. It's not like this job is known for being particularly progressive, something Epps knows firsthand considering how much shit she gets for being female even now. Well, to be fair, a lot of people don't actually care, it's only the macho sailor types who can't look past the tits.  
  
But those guys run this business and Epps isn't all that shocked to hear that Crawford has been trying to chase this couple out of town. He was one of the captains who refused to hire her back when she first started, saying that women couldn’t handle being out on the sea. In all honesty, Epps has never quite forgiven him for being such a stupid bigot and she has nothing against pissing him off whenever possible.  
  
 _Although, he does have some power around here so if these guys actually crossed him then they're either brave, foolhardy or just plain crazy. Which means that they might fit in just fine._  
  
So she agrees to give the pair a trial run and by the time they arrive, she’s almost vibrating with curiosity. Epps has never met any queers before, or at least not any who’d admit it, so the salvager’s almost disappointed when they look quite normal, no different than any of the other scruffy unemployed sailors in this town. If anything they just look hungry and Crawford must be taking his embargo seriously.  
  
 _That might be trouble later,_ Epps acknowledges, but she’s never been the type to let someone else push her around. If the other captain has an issue they can deal with it when it happens, assuming these guys are even worth the risk at all.  
  
But the men pass her first test easily, accepting her as Murphy’s first mate without so much as a double-take over her gender and once she sees them work, Epps is pretty sure that Murph found a miracle. The taller one, Munder, is possibly the best welder that she’s ever seen and Epps had never realized that Grimley’s hands trembled until now. But while their old welds were always a little jagged, Munder’s lines look like he drew them with a ruler and this hardly changes at all when she throws him in the drink.  
  
His blond friend is a bit harder to judge since she doesn’t exactly have a wreck for him to dive right now. However, Dodge obviously knows his way around a tugboat, giving the correct answers to all her questions with a breezy grin, and it would be nice to have another person who could take the watch at night.  
  
So when Murphy shows up to find out how they did, Epps gives the pair her seal of approval and the captain hires them on the spot.  
  
She can’t really blame him when the two men look so pathetically grateful for the opportunity and it seems a damn shame that their being gay has made the other captains refuse skills like that. But their bigotry is the Arctic Warrior’s gain and who knows; maybe Dodge and Munder did something else to earn Crawford’s hate. Just because they followed orders during their trial run doesn’t mean that they can cut it on the ocean so Epps plans to reserve final judgment until they prove themselves.  
  
The job is the most important thing and although it sounds a bit heartless, this first trip will determine whether the pair is worth fighting for. After all, salvaging is dangerous work and neither Epps nor Murphy is in the business of charity, even if Murph forgets that fact sometimes.  
  
Although Epps is actually the one who finds it difficult to remain objective once Munder and Dodge come aboard because the pair is so obviously wary of relaxing around her. Or anyone really and maybe if she hadn’t known the truth, the salvager wouldn’t have noticed all the silences.  
  
But she does and she hears the pauses, the moments when their relationship is talked around. Epps can almost see the shape of it in the way that Dodge deflects personal questions and watches Munder protectively when anyone else comes near. That protective streak is the only thing that stops her from wondering if Murphy had been misinformed by Crawford since her new crewmembers keep their hands to themselves. Actually Dodge and Munder are almost too professional even when off duty because no one should look so serious when drinking beer.  
  
However, Murph seems perfectly happy to pretend there’s nothing wrong with the situation and as long as Munder and Dodge don’t mind the secrecy, it isn’t Epps’ place to say anything.  
  
She’s a salvager not some kind of therapist and once they reach the wreck site, she has plenty of other things on her mind. Every job is different in this business, every site unique, and so the first step is always to discover just what they’re dealing with. Which has meant a lot of diving on her part in the past few months because both Murphy and Greer have old injuries to deal with and Epps has been the only one comfortable in a wetsuit for long periods of time.  
  
But this is where Dodge proves himself a godsend since the blond is almost happier in the water than he is on land and Munder isn’t too bad himself. So with those two working shifts together, the wreck is mapped more than a day ahead of schedule and the crew can get down to the brass tacks planning stage.  
  
This is probably Epps’ favorite part of the salvaging process since she’s always enjoyed puzzles and this is simply problem-solving on a much larger scale. She and Murphy take the lead here, their long experience together cutting straight to the heart of the matter, and the new guys seem content to watch them play ideas off each other until they find something that will work.  
  
However, when the crew starts to discuss repairs, she can tell that Munder is dying to say something as he and Dodge have another one of their weird silent discussions behind Santos’ back. If Dodge’s frown is any indication, the pair seems to be arguing and Epps is pretty sure that Munder wins.  
  
He must have won since he speaks up only seconds after the blond settles back in his chair with a huff, his face going blank when he sees Epps watching him.  
  
“Excuse me,” Munder says somewhat tentatively, the welder leaning forward to catch Murphy’s eye. “Not to overstep my bounds or anything, but we can do things way easier. I mean, your plan would work, but if we bypass the bulkhead entirely and shoot through the galley instead, I can get to the first tear without all that extra cutting slowing us up. It’ll be a tight fit since that side of the ship is all crumpled in but Dodge thinks he found a passage that should work. And if we patch the second rip from…”  
  
He seems to gain confidence when no one shoots him down immediately, every word flowing a bit smoother than the last. When Munder finishes, the rest of them spend a moment gaping as Epps’ mind works through the suggestions that he’s offered and then she grins eagerly.  
  
“Okay, so that might work. But how do you plan to avoid the aft bottleneck over here?” the salvager asks, pointing down at their plans. Even if she’s pretty sure that Munder’s right, Epps is still going to make him defend his ideas to the death before trying anything because there’s nothing Epps hates more than overlooking something that comes back to bite her in the ass.  
  
But at a nudge from the welder, Dodge finally joins in the discussion and before long the entire crew is involved in a spirited argument as they hash out the new plan. Greer is the most difficult to convince since he’s always been the one who reins in the crew’s more insane ideas and by the time he’s satisfied, the crew has come up with a Plan B for their Plan B. However, even if things go wrong this should still be faster than Murphy’s original plan of action and Epps has decided that she wants to keep these guys around.  
  
While not all of Munder’s ideas were actually feasible, he has a better grasp of physics than Grimley ever did and at least he bothered to speak up. The salvager prefers a few bad suggestions over none at all, particularly when the rest of them are decent, and once the group breaks up, she walks over to the pair.  
  
“Good work there,” Epps says, slapping the welder on the shoulder and the pleased grin that Munder gives her in response is kind of adorable.  
  
 _Damn but these guys are making me go soft,_ she thinks, shaking her head in exasperation as she heads toward the deck to start her shift. The last thing Epps needs is to get all protective over anyone, no matter how much the welder reminds her of a puppy sometimes. _Pat him on the head, give him a treat and watch his tail wag._  
  
But Munder’s a grown man and even if he weren’t perfectly capable of looking out for himself, Dodge is suspicious enough to watch out for both of them. Case in point, the last thing Epps hears as she climbs through the hatch is:  
  
“See Dodge, I told you it would be fine. They’re not like…”  
  
It kind of makes her wonder how he was going to finish that sentence, but given Crawford’s bully side, she can probably guess.  
  
Really that night is the first time Epps feels like she got a glimpse of the pair’s actual personalities and she’s pretty sure that they could be friends in time. Assuming Dodge ever stops being paranoid long enough to give this crew a chance.  
  
Epps is actually thinking of talking to him as soon as their wreck is ready to tow home; she even has a whole speech planned out for telling Dodge and Munder that she knows and she doesn’t give a damn as long as they keep doing work like that. But before Epps gets the chance to make her feelings plain, Murphy takes the problem into his own hands.  
  
He never tells her exactly what made him change his mind, just mentions one morning that he told the men to stop hiding their relationship, and he looks so guilty about the decision that she never asks. But this means she’s not surprised when the pair finally fills in some of those silent conversations and she finds the expression on Greer’s face hilarious.  
  
Though maybe Epps and Santos shouldn’t have cackled quite so hard at his consternation since the other man is convinced that it’s a joke for ages and once he realizes that they’re serious, he quietly freaks out.  
  
Quietly because Greer is strangely polite like that, but he obviously isn’t sure how he should treat them now. Not that she can judge him too harshly for it since the man seems more awkward than malicious, but his fumbling is making Dodge bristle and Murphy needs this crew to work together seamlessly.  
  
So Epps solves the problem as she solves so many things: with lots and lots of alcohol. Since the Arctic Warrior is headed back to Anchorage, they can afford to get Greer hammered and if Munder and Dodge are going to be sticking around, she has to sort this out as soon as possible. Total acceptance is probably a bit much to ask for but drunken confessions are great for clearing the air, or at least for blackmail material, and Epps has never been above playing dirty on a job.  
  
Greer can be uncomfortable as he wants in his own head as long as he manages to be civil while they’re working and after the sixth beer he finally starts to chill a bit. Though Epps knows that she’s won once Dodge and Munder join her drunken punning and her navigator can barely breathe between his howls.  
  
Because it’s a lot harder to see people as freaks once you’ve drunk and laughed and told awful jokes together and the Raisin Incident is just icing on the cake. Greer’s sense of honor would have kept him from being too much of a dick after that even without the extra incentives that she gives him, although he still makes weird faces at Dodge’s back sometimes when Munder is finally tired enough to sprawl all over him.  
  
But it’s not like they’re making out in the corridors or anything and there’s not exactly space enough for a private fuck unless the men are secretly contortionists as well. Honestly, Epps tried it once when the Arctic Warrior was docked for repairs and all she got out of it was bruises where bruises shouldn’t go.  
  
So as far as she’s concerned this is the end of it because she doesn’t care what Dodge and Munder get up to when they’re back on land again.  
  
\---  
  
Of course, once they reach the shore, Crawford is standing there like some kind of asshole welcoming party and Epps thought they’d have more time before having to deal with him. But apparently the other captain is serious about chasing the two men out of town, his smile vicious when Murphy asks him what he wants.  
  
The man talks like the crew of the Arctic Warrior is just going to roll over for him and if she hadn’t already known that he was an idiot, this would have proved her case. Because you don’t mess with another man’s tug and Epps is pleased to see that even Greer looks seriously pissed off.  
  
So she moves to back up Murphy while Crawford’s idiots throw insults like they’re candy, Greer and Santos flanking her on either side. None of them are very big but damned if they’re not scrappy and there’s no way they’re going down without doing some damage along the way. Assuming Dodge doesn’t screw up everything before the fight even starts.  
  
“Don’t be an idiot,” Epps whispers, grabbing the blond’s arm before he can move. He looks ready to do something stupid and self-sacrificing while Munder just looks ill and she’s kind of insulted that they’re still expecting to be tossed aside. Even if Murphy didn’t plan on keeping the pair on board, she’d like to think that her captain would tell Crawford to fuck off just on principle and Epps is perfectly capable of keeping Dodge in line until her crew manages to overcome his past experience.  
  
She holds the diver in place as Murphy tells the other captain exactly where he can stick his orders, only letting go once the tension seeps out of Dodge’s back. They may still have to fight but at least he finally seems to realize that he won’t be doing it alone.  
  
Honestly Epps is almost disappointed when Crawford backs down from his position, calling out a few more uninventive slurs and curses to mask his retreat. Like she can’t tell that the other captain is a cowardly bastard and now everyone’s going to have to watch their backs when they’re on land since he’s totally the type to jump someone in an alleyway. But Dodge and Munder should have plenty of practice at protecting each other and that’s a problem for another day.  
  
Though she does stay on deck until Crawford’s men have cleared out completely, no stragglers hanging around to interfere with their work. Then it’s on to the business of getting their wreck settled while Murphy deals with all the paper and there’s no time to discuss what just went down for a few hours yet.  
  
Only once the Arctic Warrior and her prize are taken care of does her crew breathe a sigh of relief and start to think of other things.  
  
Greer pulls her aside first, throwing his gear over his shoulder on his way toward the parking lot. “I still ain’t entirely sure about this,” he says, jerking his head toward Dodge and Munder on the deck. “But I’ll back Murphy’s play as long as those two keep things professional on the job. So there’s no need to mention anything about you-know-what to Delia when you see her next, yeah? She might come by the bar with me once I drop my stuff at home.”  
  
Epps just grins her agreement and offers to buy the first round – she never actually intended on spilling the beans to his long-term girlfriend but she knew the threat would come in handy and there’s nothing wrong with being generous now that things have gone her way.  
  
So she locks up the boat and tucks the keys into her jacket, leaving her gear on board the tug for now. Epps usually heads directly to the bar on the first night back in port, sleeping her hangover off in the cabin instead of going home, and she doesn’t plan to change her pattern now. It’s not like anyone is waiting for her back in her apartment and it generally takes a day or two for her to get used to being back on land again.  
  
Santos always walks over with her and tonight’s no different, but the salvager is surprised when Munder falls into step beside them, particularly since Dodge is headed off the other way.  
  
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Epps asks, not wanting all their defensive posturing to go to waste. “Some of Crawford’s goons could still be around.”  
  
However, while he seems to appreciate her worry, Munder is quick to reassure her that it isn’t needed now. “He’ll be all right. We don’t live that far away and those guys weren’t the type to put any actual effort into their bigotry. Besides, Dodge can handle himself in a fight just fine when he doesn’t have to protect my useless ass as well.”  
  
“Useless, really?” Santos chimes in, looking the welder over skeptically. “You’re like the tallest one here, man; you should at least be able to throw a punch or two.”  
  
“Well, I broke a guy’s nose once but that was pretty much an accident,” Munder replies with a self-deprecating grin. “I’m all gangly knees and elbows and I tend to do more damage to the ground than I do to my opponent. I am, however, awesome at running the other way.”  
  
“You would be with those ridiculous legs of yours. Slow down and give a guy a break, will you?” the mechanic asks before smacking the welder on the arm with a laugh. “But seriously, stick with us and we’ll show you how it’s done. The trick is to be such a vicious little bastard that no one wants to scrap with you anymore.”  
  
“I’ll keep that in mind. But Dodge has been trying to teach me for years without success so I ain’t gonna promise anything.”  
  
“Years, really? How long have you known each other, then?”  
  
He seems startled by the question and hell, he probably is, but Epps can’t deny being somewhat curious. She's never given much thought to their sort of relationship before now but she has a vague sense that gays are supposed to extremely promiscuous. Isn’t that one of the reasons people are always saying they’re bad for society?  
  
Of course, queers probably aren’t supposed to be salvagers either and Munder seems determined to shoot down all of her assumptions because he just blushes and ducks his head bashfully.  
  
“Going on six years now. First met Dodge working on a boat out of Massachusetts and we’ve been walking the same road ever since. Just friends at first, but it only took about five months to decide that this was it for both of us.”  
  
That’s kind of ridiculously sweet and Epps has to wonder if she’ll ever find someone who looks so happy when considering forever at her side. Hell, she’s never had someone consider staying past tomorrow and although she prefers her relationships temporary at the moment, the salvager can’t help a twinge of jealousy at the thought of someone wanting to stand by her like that. Someone other than Murphy because while Epps knows her captain would always support her, that’s a different sort of love right there.  
  
Which is all getting way too serious for a celebration but that’s what she has Santos for because the mechanic just grins wickedly and asks, “So love at first sight then? Or lust instead?”  
  
“Not exactly,” Munder laughs sheepishly, his earlier blushing forgotten in the face of Santos’ friendly curiosity. “If I remember correctly I puked on his shoes and Dodge decided that I couldn’t be left alone after that. He’s always been the type to take care of people whether they ask for it or not.”  
  
“Good to know because someone might have to carry me home tonight,” the other man says, throwing an arm across the welder’s shoulders cheerfully as the bar comes into view. “I don’t drink as often as I used to but this is a special occasion and we’re damn well going to enjoy it. We’ve got a new crew, Murphy promised me that he’d get the Arctic Warrior that new compressor I’ve been eyeing and my baby is one step closer to finally being mine. So the first round’s on me buddy and I think you’ll fit it just fine.”  
  
“Works for me,” Munder says, stumbling a little beneath the mechanic’s weight. “That boat is a beauty and it’d be nice to stick around in the same place for more than a week or two.”  
  
“Are you kidding? With skills like that you’ll be lucky if we ever let you go,” Epps cuts in, brushing past the guys to shove open the bar door. A wave of raucous noise washes over her as she heads toward Murphy, the captain having already claimed their usual table near the back, and the salvager feels the tension draining from her bones. Any concerns that she still has about Crawford and crew dynamics and all those damn bills she has to pay can wait until tomorrow because tonight is about celebrating another job well done.  
  



	3. Greer

Greer is convinced that it’s a prank for about two weeks. Kind of a weird joke to be sure but there’s no _way_ that Murphy would have hired a couple of fags out of the blue, not without warning the rest of them first.   
  
Besides, the navigator likes Dodge; the man’s good at his job, doesn’t whine about the harsh conditions, and has started to reveal a wicked sense of humor now that the work is almost done. So obviously the blond can’t be a fairy and while Greer’s not as sure about Munder, the welder seems like a decent sort and decent sorts marry women where he’s from. Which means that Epps and the others have to be fucking with him again.  
  
So the navigator keeps waiting for someone to crack a smile and admit that they were just hazing the new guys or getting revenge for that trick he played during the job near Barrow a while back.  
  
He keeps waiting and waiting and eventually Greer gets uncomfortable. Because Dodge and Munder never drop the act and he doesn’t care if they’re the best friends ever, they should have been freaking out by now. Friends don’t hang all over each other like that, at least not without a lot more alcohol, and they certainly don’t whisper sweet nothings when no one else is around. But the third time Greer walks in on the pair doing exactly that, he finally realizes that Dodge and Munder aren’t joking after all.  
  
They actually are in some kind of relationship, which is just… what? The navigator doesn’t get why anyone would want to fuck another man when women are all soft and curvy and beautiful and while he can understand wanting a bit of stress relief during a long voyage, these guys are way past that.  
  
At least in the Navy people had the good sense to be ashamed of their actions and everyone knew that it was never anything serious. But Dodge and Munder are in love or something and that is more than Greer can handle without freaking out. He’s not sure how he should treat them, the usual jokes suddenly risking argument and he doesn’t want to screw up this job over something personal. Though he’s also kind of angry: at Murphy for springing this on him without warning, at the rest of the crew for not caring and Dodge and Munder for being fucking fags in the first place.  
  
Why should he have to second-guess himself just because those two decided to be freaks and don’t have the good sense to hide the fact? Of course the pair came cheap – it’s not like anyone else would want to work with them – and Greer kind of wishes that he didn’t have to now.  
  
Except that their work is damn good, the both of them, and that’s the problem. If Munder and Dodge were bad at their jobs then the navigator could just hate them and be done with it because he would be justified in telling Murphy to let the pair go the next time they made port. But as it stands the captain is going to be pissed if Greer’s discomfort costs the Arctic Warrior some of the best hands she’s seen in years. Welders in particular have been hard to find in recent months and the navigator wasn’t all that sorry to see Grimley’s back.  
  
So maybe he should just thank his stars that Munder made himself unhireable until Murphy came along, call their sins the price of doing business and chill unless one of them tries to get his ass.   
  
Only that’s a lot easier said than done when Greer can’t seem to find his equilibrium. Because, in all honesty, thinking about their… relationship still makes him twitchy and he keeps running off his mouth even when he’s not trying to.  
  
Really the navigator has been waiting for Dodge to punch him in the face for a while now since he keeps insulting Munder accidentally. His mama raised him better than that – you look down on people quietly instead of making some big fuss - and Greer would have punched himself already if he’d talked about his girl like that. Not that the welder is the woman or anything, assuming that there even is a woman since not having one is kind of the whole point, isn’t it? And he really needs to stop thinking about this now.  
  
Which is why the man is almost relieved when Epps decides that the four of them need to get hammered because at least the beer shuts off his more sordid thoughts.   
  
He may still be uncomfortable but at least he’s not the only one acting like an idiot after the first few bottles and he had forgotten how hilarious the others are. It’s hard to be freaked out when he can’t breathe for laughing, Epps handing him a new beer whenever his runs out.   
  
Greer hasn’t gotten that drunk in ages and when he wakes up the next morning, he can’t remember how most of the night went down. However, Epps is kind enough to provide him with a summary once he recovers slightly, one that he most definitely does not want her to repeat. Particularly not when his girl is anywhere around because he wants to marry Delia someday and he refuses to allow his crew to scare her off.  
  
Although it quickly becomes clear that keeping Epps silent is going to take a few concessions on his part since she's definitely noticed the friction between him and Dodge these days. But while he’s a bit annoyed at her interference and he could have done without the hangover, it is her job to keep this crew running smoothly whether he likes it or not.  
  
Besides, as soon as he was drunk enough to forget that they liked to fuck each other, Greer got along with Munder and Dodge just fine so Epps isn’t asking anything that he wasn’t already thinking of.   
  
It’s not like she wants him to suddenly be their biggest cheerleader; she simply wants him to stop poking at the tiger and Greer has lots of practice with Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Even if everyone knows the truth here, the same principle applies because if he doesn't think about their relationship then he doesn't have to deal.   
  
Who knows, the navigator may even get used to the idea someday if Dodge and Munder stick around. But selective ignorance is the best that he can manage at the moment as his respect for his crew-mates wars with everything that he was raised to believe.  
  
\---  
  
Despite Greer's misgivings, the threat of Epps’ spilling everything to Delia and his own firm denial serves to keep his disgust under wraps. The navigator just tells himself that the other men are extremely close friends with a penchant for pushing his buttons until he almost believes it and he makes it back to Anchorage without anymore arguments.  
  
Of course, when they pull up to dock, Crawford's waiting and as much as part of Greer's mind still wishes those fags were off his boat already, he's instantly furious when Crawford demands them gone. Because while they may be freaks and sinners and a thorn in his side, no puffed up bully boy is going to walk all over Murphy while he's there. That's just respect for another captain's territory and if Crawford wants to get his kicks beating up queers, he can do it after Dodge and Munder aren’t part of the Arctic Warrior's crew anymore.   
  
Of course the other captain has always been an asshole so the navigator isn’t very surprised that he crossed this line and Greer’s actually kind of looking forward to a fight. Beating the crap out of the redhead’s henchmen will help to relieve some of his pent up aggression and he has a lot of it after everything that’s been going on.  
  
Although, even if it’s entirely unnecessary, the blond’s willingness to face the consequences of his choices head on is actually a point in his favor as far as Greer’s concerned. The man may be a fairy but at least he isn’t hiding behind the rest of the crew when the hammer falls.  
  
So the navigator's actually kinda disappointed when Crawford proves himself a coward, slinking off to lick his wounded pride instead of throwing down. It would have been satisfying to kick the shit out of him and the navigator doesn’t like leaving enemies at his back. But whatever, he’s not the one who has to worry about being jumped in a back corner, and Epps is bound to make sure that their welder doesn’t get damaged needlessly.  
  
Anyway, there’s no point in dwelling on it since there’s work to be done and he hasn’t seen his Delia in weeks. The thought of their reunion puts a spring in his step as the crew stows away the rest of their gear, although Greer does stop to talk to Epps after he finishes.  
  
“I still ain’t entirely sure about this,” he says, jerking his head toward Dodge and Munder where they're standing on the deck. “But I’ll back Murphy’s play as long as those two keep things professional on the job. So there’s no need to mention anything about you-know-what to Delia when you see her next, yeah? She might come by the bar with me once I drop my stuff at home.”  
  
Once Epps promises to keep her trap shut, Greer heads up to the Harbormaster’s office to use their telephone. He stopped bringing his cell on trips after the second time he dropped it in the ocean and while Delia would normally be here to pick him up already, the Arctic Warrior got back ahead of schedule this time around. But that just means that he gets to surprise her, the delighted shriek she gives after he says hello making him grin into the phone.  
  
As much as he loves his job, the constant separation is hard on his relationships and the navigator sometimes wishes that they had less time apart. It’s actually one of the few things that he and Delia used to fight about when they first started dating and the fact that she’s stuck with him anyway is how he knows it’s real.  
  
Now Greer just needs to save up for a ring before she realizes that there’s much better choices out there for a girl as fine as her.   
  
He worries about that sometimes, worries about Delia finding someone else while he’s gone, but all his insecurities blow away as soon as he sees her pretty face. Even in a ragged hoodie and his old combat boots she’s gorgeous and the navigator has to lean through the car window to kiss her hello. But eventually they manage to pull away from each other long enough to drive back to their apartment and Greer drops his bags off in the entrance with a tired sigh.  
  
The navigator is sorely tempted to stay in tonight; he wants to grab his girl and have a party of their own. But when he tries to kiss Delia again, she dances away from his hands with a giggle, one that means he’ll have to wait until later for his prize.  
  
Because she likes going out and listening to the salvagers talk shit to each other and trade stories about the past jobs they’ve done. Delia likes walking into the bar and knowing that she’s the hottest thing most of the guys have ever seen and to be honest, Greer likes it as well. While their hungry gazes do make him jealous sometimes, he’s also proud that he’s the one who won her and that strut makes him hornier than anything.  
  
So he’ll go do his social duty for a couple of hours and then he’ll take Delia home so that he can pound her into the mattress like he’s been dreaming of.  
  
By the time she finishes getting ready, the rest of the crew is two beers in and the couple is greeted with easy smiles when they finally walk through the door. They stop by the bar to grab a couple bottles of their own before joining the others at their table and it’s only then that Greer realizes he completely forgot to mention Dodge and Munder to Delia.  
  
But no one seems to notice when he stumbles slightly over the introductions and the pair is as polite as he could reasonably expect from a couple of salvagers. Actually, the men are a heck of a lot more polite than some of their former crewmates since they don’t stare at her assets with lust in their eyes. Instead Munder treats her like any of the other guys at the table and while Dodge is a bit more charming than the welder, there is clearly no interest here.  
  
 _Well, I suppose that’s an unexpected bonus to the whole queer thing,_ Greer thinks to himself, _At least I won’t have to worry about her virtue when they’re around._  
  
There had been a few other salvagers in the past who hadn’t wanted to take no for an answer and although the navigator is perfectly happy to crack a few heads when necessary, that tends to make things awkward on the job. So really, other than his own repulsion, Greer hasn’t seen all that many downsides to Dodge and Munder being wrapped up in each other and he resolves to stick with his denial as long as it works for him.  
  
Besides, the blond keeps making him look damn good when telling Delia about their latest job and the second time that she turns to him with wide-eyed admiration, the navigator can’t be bothered to care about anything else that’s going on.  
  
He can vaguely hear Munder and Santos arguing about something in the background but his girl is looking at him like he’s the center of her universe and Greer quickly decides that they’ve been here long enough.   
  
“Ready to head out, baby?” he asks Delia to a wave of catcalls from his crewmates, the navigator flipping them off with a mock scowl as he waits for her response. Greer isn’t actually sure what she’ll say since she hasn’t even finished her second bottle and his girl doesn’t like anything to go to waste. But Dodge’s tales must have her hot and bothered because she chugs down the rest of her beer in an instant before grabbing her purse and staring at him expectantly.  
  
“Well all right then,” Greer laughs, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and nodding goodbye to the others as he steers her out the door.  
  
The drive back to their apartment seems to take forever, the couple unable to keep their hands off each other on the way to their floor. He pushes her up against the door as soon as it closes shut behind them, swallowing down her breathy moan in another heated kiss. Their bed is going to be creaking loudly in a few minutes, the headboard knocking loudly against the wall. But while Greer and Delia always get a bit frisky when he’s back from a job, their neighbors are resigned to the disruption and no one ever gives them shit about the noise anymore.  
  
So the man just slides his hands under her thighs and lifts his girlfriend up, strong legs wrapping around him tightly as he buries his face against her neck. Greer has to stop and catch his breath for a moment, his body drowning in Delia’s tempting softness after months without.   
  
He has missed her dearly, missed everything about her, and he absolutely has to kiss her sweet mouth again. Though considering the filth that she’s whispering against his lips, sinful may be a better adjective. Her words stoke the fire inside him, arms wrapped around his neck as she presses their hips together and Greer is pretty sure that his girl is going to be the death of him. However, if he has to go, this is how he wants to do it, and he grabs two handfuls of her ass for leverage.  
  
It takes all of his concentration but Greer manages to get them to the bedroom where the couple tumbles down onto the mattress and sets about making their reunion memorable.  
  
\---  
  
Things settle back into a routine pretty quickly after this, the navigator spending every free moment with his lady while they wait for their next job. Not that there isn’t work to be done since salvaging isn’t all sailing around the ocean, but there’s something nice about coming home to an actual bed at night.  
  
Delia’s warm body next to him is a damn sight better than the bunks on the Warrior even if their mattress kind of sucks and the couple has to make up for his absences somehow.   
  
So while Greer sees the rest of the crew nearly every day, he can’t be bothered to think about them all that much when they’re not right in front of him. As for Dodge and Munder, denial is still the navigator’s go to solution and he actually forgets about their relationship for a while there. It’s the kind of thing that lives in the back of his head but never gets brought to light and he would have been quite happy to leave it there.  
  
The only reason that he doesn’t is because of Delia since his girlfriend is far too curious about the pair for her own good. But apparently Dodge made quite an impression that first evening with his stupid charming smiles and even if the other man likely didn’t mean it, Greer is starting to get jealous here.  
  
“What the heck do you want to know any of that for?” the navigator bursts out one evening after his patience finally snaps. “He’s just some guy I work with, not your new best friend.”  
  
“Relax, babe. You know you’re the only one for me,” Delia responds with a smile, leaning up to kiss away his frown. “Dodge just seemed like a nice guy and my friend Angela has been alone for way too long. She needs a boyfriend who’s going to take care of her and dating a salvager has worked out for me just fine. Besides, you don’t talk about your new crewmates when you talk about your work and that makes me curious.”  
  
“I don’t?” Greer repeats dully, mind stuck between horror and laughter at the idea that Dodge would be a good boyfriend for anyone.  
  
“No, you don’t. Which is odd since you went off on Santos’ music for twenty minutes the other day and you used to complain about your last welder all the time.”  
  
“Well, there's just not much to complain about anymore. Munder's a damn sight better at his job than Grimley used to be,” the navigator says, the explanation sounding weak even to his own ears. He's told his girl about every job he's ever been on and every guy he's ever served with, so of course she wonders why he hasn't done so in this case. She wonders and asks in that pointed way she has, the one that the navigator has never been able to resist. So all it takes is one sharply raised eyebrow for Greer to crack like a cheap glass window and spilleverything.  
  
Delia just listens quietly as he pours out all his buried frustrations, the disgust and distrust that's been living beneath his skin. Apparently denial hadn't been working out as well as he thought if the navigator still has this much to say.  
  
But eventually his well of hate runs dry, its loss leaving Greer panting awkwardly upon the couch as Delia looks at him. Now that he's regained his composure, the man is actually a bit nervous about her reaction since he's never wanted his girl to think less of him. Delia has always been the type to see the best in everyone, even him, and that's exactly why he fell in love with her.  
  
This moment proves no different, his girlfriend not even blinking at the revelation of Dodge and Munder's twisted relationship. Instead she leans up to kiss him on the cheek, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she murmurs, “I don't know. I think it sounds rather sweet.”  
  
Somehow Greer can't find it in himself to argue with her even though sweet is the last word that he would pick. But Delia's calm acceptance makes the navigator want to be a better person where even the pair's professionalism has failed to change his mind. He wants to live up to the admiration that he sees in her eyes even though he knows that he doesn't deserve the way she looks at him.  
  
“You really think so?” he asks softly, still trying to wrap his head around the idea. “But it's a sin. And unnatural, you know that.”  
  
“And a few hundred years ago neither of us were considered people, so you'll have to excuse me if I don't necessarily agree with what everyone believes. It's not like they're hurting anyone but each other and I have to admit that I'm a little jealous of them both. It must be nice to be able to spend all their time together instead of having to say goodbye every few months like us.”  
  
Greer has never thought about it that way; it never even occurred to him to draw that parallel. But while he would have dismissed this argument out of hand if anyone else had made it, the navigator has no defense against Delia's calm certainty that Dodge and Munder are all right.  
  
So while he still thinks the pair is weird and he's probably always going to be a bit creeped out by the thought of them doing anything together, maybe he can try. Maybe he can try to see the men as friends instead of people that he just has to work with and if he's going to do that, he can't live in denial anymore. Because Greer takes his friendships seriously and that is more important to him than even sin and infamy.  
  
“Fine, babe. Next time you get the urge to throw a party we'll invite the whole crew along. And I'll try to get to know the guys better in the meantime. Okay?”  
  
“That's all I can ask, love, so thank you. You don't have to like them, but if you're going to hate someone you should hate them on their own merits instead of for some kind of old school prejudice. You're a better man than that.”  
  
He really isn't but for Delia, Greer will pretend otherwise. Because she deserves to have the man she thinks he is even if that man's a lie.

 


	4. Santos

People think that Santos doesn’t notice things and sure the mechanic doesn't usually make a big deal out of his observations but that doesn't mean he's blind. In fact he probably could have had a thriving career in blackmail if he had been the type to care about the secrets that other people want to hide.  
  
But the mechanic doesn't care; live and let live has always worked for him. Maybe it's an Australian thing – and really he's getting tired of no one believing that's where he comes from – or maybe it's just his own personality. Whatever the reason, Santos has always preferred to use his powers for pranks and party tricks and he's a good enough mechanic that he's never needed to resort to anything nefarious in order to get a job.  
  
Case in point, all it took to get him this one was one rather stressful skills test and Santos had never been so happy to have scary sisters as he was after that. Because trying to check an engine beneath Epps' icy stare of implied criticism was a whole different ballgame from the usual work he'd done.   
  
However while the other salvager can definitely be a hard ass, she only goes ballistic when someone does something idiotic, and she's a whole lot of fun otherwise.  
  
The two of them actually get along really well these days, probably better than Santos does with Greer in all honesty. The other man is just a bit too judgmental and serious, refusing to recognize that the mechanic can do his job just fine even when goofing off.  
  
Epps gets that and has never asked him to be anyone different, though he knows the hammer would come down swiftly if his work ever suffered due to that. But Santos appreciates knowing exactly where he stands with someone and so her sudden shiftiness arouses his curiosity. All he did was ask about the new guys, a perfectly valid question after Dodge and Munder kind of just show up one afternoon.  
  
The mechanic doesn't actually mind the lack of notice since this isn't the first that Murphy has hired someone to round out their crew last minute, but he's never taken on two at once before. So Santos can't help but be curious about them and Epps' reaction when he asks his question is definitely weird.  
  
Because she does that twitching thing she does every time she's hiding something and the mechanic has never seen that response directed at him before. Honestly, the other salvager usually errs on the side of being overly blunt when she doesn't want to talk about something so he finds it very unsettling when Epps just mutters something noncommittal and walks away.  
  
Of course that really only makes the mechanic more curious and once he starts looking, it doesn't take him long to realize what she had been talking around. Dodge and Munder aren't exactly secret masterminds after all and Santos has always tried not to let his own assumptions blind him to the truth.   
  
So while the other men are professional when they're working and he never actually catches them doing anything, their relationship with each other is not that hard to see. It's visible in the way that Dodge always seems to know exactly where the welder's standing and makes sure that he's taken care of before looking to himself. It's obvious in how the two men are so ridiculously comfortable with each other that they remind Santos of his parents, the whole 'old married couple' vibe impossible to miss.  
  
Which all means that the two of them are more than fuck-buddies or the other kind of justifications that you sometimes get out on the sea. Dodge and Munder are in an honest-to-god monogamous relationship with each other and the mechanic can kind of understand why Murphy and Epps have decided not to speak of it for now.  
  
Because the crew of the Arctic Warrior has never had any sort of detailed conversations about their political beliefs so Murphy probably thinks that Greer and Santos would take the information badly and the captain wouldn't want to screw up their dynamic in the middle of a job.  
  
But the truth is, the mechanic really doesn't give a damn about Munder and Dodge's relationship; if anything he actually kind of admires the courage that it takes to be gay salvagers. Even if they aren't advertising it at the moment, the pair obviously told Murphy and that right there takes balls.  
  
Besides, one of the mechanic's cousins came out not that long ago and Rodrigo is one of the sweetest kids that you'll ever meet so Santos is hardly going to go queer-bashing after that. Munder actually reminds Santos of him a bit with his gangly awkwardness, although he's a heck of a lot better with a blow torch than 'Drigo will ever be, and that may be part of the reason that the two of them get on so well.  
  
So really Santos doesn't see any reason to freak out and he just sits back to enjoy the squawking when the guys finally decide to tell everyone. And there is squawking because Greer takes the revelation about as well as the mechanic thought he would.  
  
Which is to say that he reacts with disbelief, incredulity, and a whole lot of denial before he's done.   
  
But first the navigator makes the most entertaining faces and it's not like Dodge and Munder need Santos to come to their defense. Not when Dodge's tongue is sharper than the mechanic's could ever hope to be and he seems like the type who would throw the first punch. Throw the first one and the last one if it came to that.   
  
So Santos stays on the sidelines as Greer attempts to wrap his mind around the fact that men can actually love each other, the navigator largely failing at this task. Instead he mostly manages to insult the welder without thinking and after the fourth time she has to separate him from the others in order to avoid a brawl, Epps decides to step in.  
  
She doesn't exactly solve the problem by drowning it in alcohol, although that's certainly the most pleasant way the mechanic's ever seen someone try to overcome bigotry. It actually works in a way since Greer apparently forgets to be weirded out by Dodge and Munder once he's smashed enough, but it's not exactly a long term solution if Epps doesn't want the Arctic Warrior to run in circles all the time. Because they do actually need their navigator sober no matter how much fun that might be.  
  
Of course, hangover aside, Greer's mortification when he finally wakes up the next morning actually serves her purpose well enough. Because even if his opinion of the other men hasn't changed, his sense of honor keeps him from being too loud about it anymore.  
  
Even if it's not ideal, this at least lets Greer and Dodge work together without snarling anymore and so Santos puts the whole mess from his mind until their job is done. They can worry about the navigator's prejudices once they're back on land again and he'd rather spend his time getting to know the new members of their crew instead. He wants to know who they actually are not who they were pretending to be in order to avoid hurting his non-existent sensibilities.  
  
Because their lives are so wrapped in each other that all of their stories had been filled with pregnant silences, moments where the mechanic had to pretend that he didn't know how much they cared. But now Dodge doesn't have to bother with inventing fake conquests whenever they're hanging out together and Munder has finally lost some of his awkward reticence.  
  
So Santos soon discovers that the welder has a knack for awful stories, the kind that go on and on without ever getting anywhere but are somehow still hilarious. Munder's also a surprisingly good person to talk to about whatever and he's the first person who doesn't roll his eyes when Santos starts waxing poetic about his car again. Oh, he gives him shit for it but it's more of a friendly ribbing than any kind of judgmental thing.  
  
The mechanic doesn't get on quite as well with Dodge – the man has shitty taste in music after all – but he still likes him well enough. So he doesn't even hesitate before moving to stand with Epps and Murphy when Crawford shows his ugly mug on the dock in Anchorage.  
  
Though to be honest Santos would have done it anyway just on principle since the other captain has always been a dick of the worst kind. He couldn't even remember the mechanic's name during the one job they worked together and spent three months calling him “the Mexican” instead. While that was slightly better than being called “hey you,” thinking about it still ticks Santos off something fierce and he really wouldn't mind punching that smug bastard in the face.  
  
Sadly he doesn't get his chance because Crawford is too much of a pussy to actually fight even with six guys at his back and the mechanic has to bite back a laugh when the lot of them slink off. So he throws a few insults after them just to rub in their cowardice and then puts the whole encounter from his mind.  
  
The mechanic has better things to think about, like the ice cold beer that's waiting for him once they get their prize detached and the Arctic Warrior all sorted out again. Or he could imagine the new compressor which Murphy promised he would finally get around to buying during this shore leave. The thought of having one of those beauties to tinker with makes the mechanic positively giddy and he joins Epps on the dock with a grin.  
  
The two of them usually head over to the bar together and while Munder decides to join them this time, their friendly banter still flows easily.  
  
\---  
  
That evening sets the tone for the next few months and for the first time, Santos feels like the crew of the Arctic Warrior is becoming a family. Sure Greer still has issues but his girlfriend seems to have them well in hand and as much as they love to give the navigator shit about his relationship, Delia really is good for him.  
  
Dodge and Munder have grown more relaxed as well, the blond finally starting to believe that the others aren't going to turn on them at the first opportunity. It's kind of sad that it's taken this long to sink in even after Murphy faced down Crawford for the pair but Santos can't really blame him for his wariness. He's seen some of the prejudice that gays face back home when visiting Rodrigo's family and there's a reason that he taught his cousin how to fight. But salvagers are an even more insular bunch and if Santos were in Dodge's shoes he'd want eyes in his back.  
  
Particularly considering the way that Crawford and some of his friends like to lurk in the background, glaring at Munder like they want to rip him apart with their bare hands. The mechanic can't imagine hating anyone enough to put forth that kind of effort and he always keeps a watchful eye on his crewmates when the redhead is around.   
  
He's not too worried about Dodge since a few friendly dust-ups have proven that the other man can kick ass when necessary but Munder hadn't been joking about his uselessness in a fight. Santos is pretty sure that his youngest cousin could take down the welder without breathing hard and all attempts to teach him anything haven't ended well.  
  
Instead the rest of them have come to an unspoken agreement of sorts, everyone keeping an eye out for Munder so that no one manages to corner him without someone else around. For while Dodge usually takes care of it, he can't always be there and Santos figures he could probably use a break sometimes.  
  
Actually the mechanic can tell that both men appreciate it even if they never acknowledge it as such. To be honest, Santos would be kind of embarrassed if either of them actually thanked him for his efforts since he's just trying to do what he thinks is right.   
  
No one wants to lose Munder to some asshole's bigotry and some of the stories that the welder has told him make him want to cringe. Because there's a reason Dodge hates Crawford, a reason involving cracked ribs and threats of broken fingers along with the kind of abuse that Santos wouldn't wish on anyone.   
  
Munder's a welder, that's his entire livelihood right there, and the mechanic isn't the only one who doesn't want to see him harmed.  
  
He can't be when Murphy's got a weirdly paternal thing going and Epps seems to see the guys as a combination of friends and the little brothers that she's never had. Even Greer has finally remembered that he actually likes Dodge as a person, not that the man is ever going to admit this truth out loud. But Santos can see it and he's pretty happy with the way things are turning out for his pseudo-family since he had been getting tired of breaking in new crew members all the time.  
  
Their job is hard enough already and he prefers to know that he can count on his crewmates when something invariably goes wrong. There's a certain level of familiarity needed to make a tug run smoothly, if only so no one tries to kill each other after a few months at sea, and that's hard to find when people keep quitting every other week.  
  
But these two seem like they're going to be sticking around for the long haul, particularly since they don't exactly have any better options on the ground. Not when Santos is pretty sure that no other tug in Anchorage would allow them to sprawl all over each other like that.  
  
Although he doesn't actually catch them kissing until almost a year after they join the Arctic Warrior and even that is hardly anything risque. But they had had a close call on their current job earlier that morning, Munder's oxygen tank getting punctured when the wreck shifted unexpectedly. If Dodge and Epps hadn't been right there, the welder never would have made it back to the surface before he suffocated and it had been a near thing even so.  
  
So if the blond's hands tremble a bit as he removes Munder's mask, no one calls him on it and Santos has to admit that his own knees are a little weak right then. While this job is dangerous, he's never lost a crewmate before and he definitely doesn't want to change that pattern now.  
  
Dodge takes the welder below to check him for shock while the rest of the crew stows their equipment back where it belongs. But there isn't much for the mechanic to do at the moment and so he goes down to check on Munder himself because the other man had been far too pale when the mask came off.  
  
However, when Santos gets down to the galley, he can hear the two of them talking and quickly decides that he probably shouldn't just barge in because the diver's voice still has an edge of panic to it when he asks how Munder is.  
  
“Dodge, I promise you. I'm all right,” the welder replies softly, though Santos thinks he's trying to reassure himself as much as his partner now.  
  
“You can't do that kind of thing to me. My heart can't take it,” is the response, Dodge's voice more vulnerable than Santos has ever heard before. He's usually the strong and stoic one, the one who shows no fear, but apparently a threat to Munder is all it takes to shatter him.  
  
“Well it's not like I did it on purpose and I'm hardly going to stop working just so you don't have a heart attack. It's not like it's all that much safer on land for us.” While Munder's words are a bit tetchy, through the crack in the door the mechanic can see that he's wrapped an arm around Dodge's shoulders, his other hand stroking the blond's back reassuringly. The mechanic is definitely starting to feel like he's intruding but he's also kind of curious, and so his feet stay planted right there in the hall.  
  
“I know, I know. Though at least there I've got the rest of the crew to help watch out for you, Just be careful, yeah?” Dodge leans up to kiss his lover then, capturing the welder's lips a little desperately. The two of them move together with the ease of long familiarity and while Santos is slightly uncomfortable, he also has to recognize how well they fit like that.   
  
Somehow it doesn't look out of place as their kiss deepens, it just looks completely natural, and the mechanic backs away with a smile on his face. Those two deserve some privacy for their reaffirmations, though he trusts they'll manage to stop before the clothes come off.  
  
But for now he may as well go check on his engines so that everything is in tip-top shape when their crew is ready to start the job again. Because Santos knows that this scare is hardly more than a bump in the road and he fully expects everyone to work twice as hard just to prove that they can handle it. That's what a good crew does and the Arctic Warrior's current salvagers are quickly proving to be one of the best.  
  
Which is good for him since he's been able to save money much faster lately as he waits to buy his gorgeous classic baby, the one that will make the mechanic's life complete. Santos loves that fucking car and someday soon she's going to be waiting for him every time he gets back to shore again.

 


	5. Ferriman

Ferriman loves salvage crews. They’re always so easy to manipulate, so desperate for one big score to free them from the hole of debt they’re mired in. And there’s always debt since salvaging is that kind of business: everyone working from hand to mouth because they have no other options or are spellbound by the siren call of the sea.  
  
But as much fun as salvagers are to slaughter, cruise lines have always been his favorite reaping grounds. In the old days their passengers reeked of such desperation, yearning for power, romance and adventure like they’d never seen before. They didn’t need money since only the truly wealthy could afford those tickets and these high and mighty aristocrats never noticed the resentment that their lifestyle bred. They never noticed how much the sailors hated them, this festering envy giving Ferriman power like nothing else those days.  
  
All he had to do was throw a bit of gold into the mix and suddenly these people would do anything he asked, good law-abiding citizens turned into thieves and murderers. It was so _easy_ then and he was sorely disappointed when such ships fell out of style.  
  
Since those golden days Ferriman has been making do with salvagers and thrill-seekers, a few souls at a time drawn into the Graza’s path. By now his ship is practically bursting at the seams with sins and silence, his quota nearly filled off that first mutiny alone. Even the innocent spirits are now tangled in his web – well, he says innocent but Ferriman has never had any illusions about the darkness in the hearts of men and most of them would have been his anyway.  
  
He can feel these ghosts clawing at their bonds sometimes and he savors the taste of hopelessness, their misery easing the terminal boredom that he faceshere on the sea. The waiting is the most annoying part of this whole business and he has taken to taunting some of the fiercer spirits when the time starts to drag.  
  
The youngest ghost is his favorite target since her indignation always burns so brightly and her unbridled innocence should earn him a fine bonus when this tour is done. A truly untainted soul is hard to come by so he's been careful not to damage Katie too greatly before Hell can swallow her.  
  
Instead he allows the child her little rebellions, watching with amusement as she tries to save his victims and fails continuously. For no one really believes in evil anymore and even those who can see his ghosts will not listen to the warnings that they speak. This modern world is all about expediency and shades of grey, the god of wealth the only one that matters, and really Ferriman's work is almost too easy now.  
  
At least it was before his ship started sinking and if he loses the Graza there will be Hell to pay. Literal Hell since his bosses won't be happy and Ferriman would do anything to escape the flames that wait for him.  
  
Which is why he needs another salvage crew, one small and gullible and damn good at what they do.   
  
\---  
  
It's weird to be on land again after decades out on the water and Ferriman can't decide whether or not he likes the change. He feels strangely vulnerable without his ship around him, the environment no longer bending to his control so easily. Instead he has to rely on deceit and fawning smiles to get what he wants from the world and the need to bow and scrape before these peons grates on him.  
  
But there are some things which have improved considerably since the last time that he felt land beneath his feet and Ferriman can’t be too annoyed with a lager in his hand. He doesn’t actually get drunk anymore but he still appreciates the taste and this is a lot better than the swill that’s left on board his boat these days. The last batch of salvagers actually made their own, a sort of filthy moonshine that smelled like turpentine and if Ferriman had still had a liver, it wouldn’t have survived the week. As it was, he was just impressed that those fools managed to stay upright for more than a few hours with that stuff in their blood.  
  
So this is definitely an improvement and Ferriman claims a corner in one of Anchorage’s many dive bars to drink away the wait. While he has a rather important deadline and the desperate faces all around him make Ferriman salivate, he needs to be a bit more discriminating this time around.  
  
He doesn’t just need a crew with sin on their hearts and death in their future; he needs one that can actually save the Graza before their souls turn bad. Ferriman needs dreamers who will bet everything on the slim chance of success and a good story, ones that don’t look too closely at the falsehoods in his eyes. But the first group that he sees is too incompetent if their hungry faces are any indication and that one in the corner would never take the risk.  
  
Three days pass before Ferriman finally finds the perfect targets and the search is beginning to weigh on him by then. The joys of food and alcohol fade quickly when he can't actually get drunk or hungry and he'd forgotten that salvagers were such a nosy bunch. There's always some captain bothering him about the weather up by Juneau or a drunken fool getting all territorial - as if Ferriman actually cares who's top dog in this shit hole of a place.  
  
But finally a group rolls in laughing and joking with each other, spirits high on the success of their most recent job. The moment that they walk in the door, Ferriman knows this crew is perfect by the stains of sin and jealousy that bloom before his eyes.  
  
There is greed upon their hearts and yet that isn't what he finds most interesting because greed is hardly something unique in this town. The bar is practically built on it, the very wood seeped in hungry desperation and that's half the reason that he chose this place. But Ferriman has never felt such a wave of jealous hate before – it wells up in the souls around him, a tantalizing feast laid out for his taking and he almost reaches out to steal them all.  
  
It would be so very easy but without his ship Ferriman has no way to hold them and that brief pleasure isn't worth the punishment. So he forces himself to focus on his mission and it doesn't take long for him to decide that his instincts were right after all.  
  
The captain of this crew is obviously the kind who sails for love of the ocean, all wrapped up in the mystery and beauty of the deeps. Ferriman just has to offer him a tale of tragedy and romance and this Murphy fellow will drag the rest of his crew along for the ride.  
  
However, it is the jealousy still buzzing beneath his skin that truly decides him because there is nothing like envy to prove which crew’s the best. Salvagers always know the truth of their standings even if no one will admit them to a prospective customer and if the Arctic Warrior is not the top, she’s close enough for him.   
  
So he dangles the promise of a fortune before them and it doesn’t take long to convince the crew of his sincerity once Ferriman reveals the photos that he made.   
  
“Last month I was out in the middle of the Strait when I came across this,” he says, laying the images of the Graza across the table where everyone can see.  
  
“Congratulations. You found a boat. In the middle of the ocean, of all places.” Okay, so they're a more sarcastic bunch than he had been expecting, but once the captain takes the plunge, the rest of the crew follow along just like he thought they would. Actually the only thing that they object to is Ferriman’s presence aboard their tug boat and he expected that to be a sticking point.   
  
Salvagers are always twitchy about their vessels but he’s not exactly bargaining from a position of weakness and they bend to his whims soon enough. In fact, the captain is the one to suggest that they sail out immediately with hardly any nudging and so Ferriman finds himself back out on the ocean before the next night falls.   
  
It’s a little harder to keep up his mask in such close quarters but it’s not like he needs these people to become his bosom friends. He just needs Murphy's crew to remain oblivious to the devil in their midst until they fix the Graza and deflecting is something at which Ferriman excels.   
  
So he plays up the easy smiles and awkward pilot personality during the journey to his ship, quickly categorizing his companions into a few simple categories. Captain, joker, navigator – these people are easy enough to understand without digging beneath the surface and Ferriman doesn't actually care about their issues anyway.   
  
While it is a little weird to see a woman running second on a salvage vessel and he can't quite figure out the deal with Dodge and Munder – though maybe friends have just become much more tactile since he died – this hardly matters when the rest of them are so predictable. Father issues, greed and indecision, lust and jealousy and avarice - all it takes is one little sin, one little moment of weakness to give his power access and then the rest is history.  
  
That’s why the gold is so very important to his scheming since nothing creates greed in the hearts of men like that shining metal does. Even those who have never wanted money cannot resist its whispers and this crew is no different once he makes the treasure known.  
  
However, the gold works a bit too well this time because the crew is suddenly voting to leave the Graza to her watery grave and run away as millionaires. A practical decision, to be sure, but also **completely unacceptable** and so Ferriman starts his slaughter a little sooner than he’d planned.  
  
While he wasn't going to let any of them survive anyway, he had hoped to get the Graza fixed before killing anyone. People could be unpredictable once their friends started dying and everyone knows that welding needs a steady hand. But keeping the crew here is more important than their sanity so desperation will just have to motivate where greed has failed. Self-preservation has a way of making miracles and Ferriman isn't above moving things along.  
  
So he blows up the Arctic Warrior with a few simple twists of his fingers, tug boats so very fragile when you fill their holds with gas. The fire takes Santos with it, one more soul added to his collection and a fine bit of leverage when Murphy begins to poke around.  
  
The captain starts asking _questions_ that Ferriman does not want answered and it seems that his control over the Graza’s spirits is already weakening. Because the ship’s former captain leads Murphy to the truth of his situation and in so doing condemns them both to die. Well, condemns them both to suffer since even Ferriman cannot kill the ghosts within his care. He can, however, shred the captain’s spirit into dust and agony and while he may regain his shape eventually, the scars will never truly fade away.  
  
Murphy requires a more physical approach but Santos is quite happy to take care of that for him. The newly dead are always so angry, even more so when they die violently, and all Ferriman has to do is set Santos loose to play.   
  
It’s an audition of sorts to see if the mechanic will be one of the ghosts that he uses to do his dirty work and he passes with flying colors to Ferriman’s surprise. But even in death Santos is clever, tricking Murphy into attacking Epps with a pipe wrench before the woman takes him out. Such chaos is the base of Ferriman’s power, mistrust and suspicion making it easy to worm his way further into his target’s minds.  
  
So he locks Murphy in the fish tank where he can kill the captain whenever he pleases and fans Greer’s guilt into a bonfire when he starts talking of escape. Ferriman doesn’t need the navigator being the voice of reason at the moment and as soon as Greer punches Munder, Dodge is quick to drive him off.  
  
This allows Francesca to remove Greer from the equation without interference, the man’s drunken horniness quickly overwhelming his attempts at monogamy. The singer truly is a treasure, so willing to kill for Ferriman even when she was living and somehow the fact that he murdered her hasn’t changed a thing.   
  
Which means that the navigator isn’t there to stir up trouble when Ferriman turns the conversation to repairs again and the remaining members of the Arctic Warrior quickly come up with a plan. Admittedly, he has no idea whether or not it’s going to work since Munder might as well have been speaking gibberish for all the sense it made, but the welder seems cautiously optimistic and that is sufficient evidence for him. The whole reason that Ferriman needed experts is because he doesn’t know what he’s doing and there was no point in bringing them if he doesn’t trust what they say.  
  
Although he does know enough to make it easy for them, debris sliding out of Dodge and Munder’s way before they can even notice them. This leaves the path to the gash clear for their equipment and it’s not long before the hole is sealed.   
  
In fact, the three survivors seem rather surprised by how quickly their work is finished, but Ferriman can practically see them writing off the weirdness as adrenaline or luck.  
  
Humans are good like that, always justifying away the things they can’t explain and so remaining blind to all that they should fear. Case in point, Munder doesn’t even hesitate before getting back into the water and this is the last bad decision that he will ever make. For there are so many dangerous things beneath the surface, gears and gizmos just waiting to grind someone to a pulp, and Ferriman almost feels bad when he starts them up again.  
  
But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades and almost means nothing to a beast like him. So Ferriman dismisses Munder from his mind as soon as he feels the welder’s heart snuff out, gathering the last threads of agony to boost his strength again.  
  
His power has been running a little thin these last few hours, the weakness of his ship sending cracks through his foundation, and the life blood of this crew is all that’s kept him going strong this long. But now that the Graza is repaired, Ferriman can afford to play with Epps and Dodge a bit before he kills them, luring the final two into sin and sacrifice.   
  
He doesn’t just want to take their lives; he wants to mark them like he did Greer and Santos, claim two more soldiers to aid him in his fight. Particularly since he missed his chance with Murphy and Munder, their hearts far too clean for men their age. Sure there's a few dark spots here and there but nothing like Ferriman was expecting given the shadows upon the captain's mind. Yet apparently regret does not always signify the kind of sin he needs and Ferriman will have to remember that next time around.  
  
For the moment he's more focused on getting Dodge to shoot him since nothing says damned to Hellfire like a murder in cold blood. It's actually a little sad how easy it is to make the blond lose his temper, Dodge's first instinct to attack when threatened like some kind of cornered dog.  
  
Although Ferriman would have expected the taunts about Epps to break the diver since he could have sworn that Dodge was pining epically. Why else would he be so willing to follow a woman's lead out on the water instead of taking her down where she deserves?   
  
“Well, you live for her. You willing to die for her?” he asks, Dodge's fingers clenching on the shotgun that he's holding in his hands. But it's not until Ferriman starts in on Munder and the slow agony in which the welder died that Dodge finally loses it. The shells sting when they pierce through Ferriman's body, his strange state of half-dead unpleasantness doing nothing to stop the pain even if he can't actually die again.  
  
So he lunges forward, digging his fingers deep into the diver's throat. Dodge tries to fight him of course since some human instincts are impossible to fight, but Ferriman has far more than mortal strength on his side.  
  
When the last breath finally leaves the other's body, Ferriman drops Dodge to the floor and kneels over him, reaching out to burn his mark into his hand. But before he can touch the diver, a ghostly arm wraps around his neck.  
  
“Don't touch him!” Munder growls, the sheer affront of being touched freezing Ferriman in his tracks. None of his spirits have ever challenged him, none of them have _dared_ , and for good reason because as soon as he recovers from his shock, the welder goes flying across the room. Ferriman rounds on Munder with a snarl, wrapping his power around the ghost until he's choking on agony. He doesn't actually need to breathe anymore but the newly dead always keep their human mannerisms for a while, a habit that makes them easier to control.  
  
Though apparently both Dodge and Munder have protective stupidity wired into their very atoms because just as Ferriman is ready to blow the welder into oblivion, Dodge lurches clumsily into the fray. His spirit is even weaker than the welder's and yet he seems completely willing to die again to stop the other's pain.  
  
“What the devil is wrong with you two?” Ferriman roars as he slams both ghosts into the air, eyes beginning to glow with a burning hellish light. “You are dead! You are dead and useless and you are only delaying the inevitable. Just give up already so I can finish off this mess. My god, you salvagers are always useless but I've never run into such a fucking annoying bunch before.”  
  
Of course, “I'm not going to let you hurt him,” is what Dodge growls in reply and Ferriman has to fight the urge to roll his eyes. These two obviously don't understand their new position and he doesn't have the time to figure out just what their problem is.  
  
So Ferriman leaves them hanging, binds them in threads of power so that neither soul can interfere while he goes after Epps. The last salvager is the survivor of the bunch, the tricky one, and the first to realize that you can’t kill what has died. Attacking Ferriman is pointless but she’s going after the source of his power and he cannot let her sink the Graza now. So he borrows Dodge's visage to keep her off her guard and he's almost close enough to steal the detonator from Epps’ hands when he says something wrong.  
  
Something makes her eyes narrow with suspicion, the salvager backing up slowly as she asks, “Why haven't you asked me where Munder is?”  
  
 _Seriously, again with Dodge and Munder,_ Ferriman thinks, dropping the masquerade with a frustrated sigh. _Co-dependent much?_ But two unruly spirits aren't going to matter once Epps is finished and her horror at his transformation is just the distraction that he needs.  
  
A quick blow across the head sends the salvager into the water, detonator tumbling to the walkway with a clang. He’s won now, the only thing left is to squeeze the life out of her body, and he’s never been able to resist the urge to gloat a bit. It’s one of the few joys that he has in this endless limbo and Ferriman is damn well going to revel in his victory.  
  
Unfortunately, while he’s busy gloating, Epps is busy planning and he probably shouldn’t have counted her out just yet. But most people can’t hit detonator switches with harpoon guns so Ferriman can’t really be blamed for his incredulity.   
  
“Oh, _come on,_ ” he groans as the little red button twitches, no time to do anything else before the blast sends him through a wall. There are some downsides to corporeality when everything around him is exploding and Ferriman fades out as soon as he can think again. But it’s too late to save the Graza or even his own head because his power is slipping through his fingers like grains of falling sand. Anyone who wasn’t marked when they died is free to leave now and even some of his sinners are running for the light.  
  
It’s all Ferriman can do to tighten his hold on the remainder, drawing them to him as he begins to sink. Now that his ship is gone, there’s nothing to tie him to the surface but he is damned enough without going back empty-handed too.   
  
So he digs his claws in deeper to drag his ghosts down with him, dear Francesca by his side where her black heart belongs. But for every spirit that he captures, two more escape his power and Ferriman wants to growl with every joyous light that flits past. Though when he catches sight of Dodge and Munder drifting by with the others he has to stop and gape for a moment because a few things suddenly make a lot more sense. The two ghosts are tied so close together that they’re practically one person and only love makes a soul glow like that.  
  
 _Well, fuck me; I can't believe I missed that,_ Ferriman thinks as metal creaks around him, the Graza slowly shattering into the sea. _Though I could have sworn that this should have made them mine from the beginning if I’m remembering my Bible right._  
  
Their love for each other should have marked them for eternal damnation in an instant and yet the last thing that Ferriman sees as Hell finally pulls him under is Dodge and Munder disappearing into light.  
  
  
 _End_

 


End file.
